When It Was Us
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day 1046a: Sometimes it doesn't take all that much to reawaken something in you... - Faves cycle, day 17 of 21, Top 5 relationships - Number 2


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 49th cycle. Now cycle 50!_

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**CYCLE 50 SPECIAL FAVORITES CHART - **_So I've done 'favorites' cycles before, and this is another one, but since it's cycle 50, I wanted to do something special for it. So instead of the usual top 16 with a 6-chapter Boston Britt installment for Brittany (who has always been and remains number one ;)), this is how it will be: It's shift days through the cycle. Shift B will be a 21-chapter/day Boston Britt. In shift A, after the first day's 'extra' dedicated to New Directions, there will be four Top 5 lists, working their way down (all the number 5 spots, all the number 4 spots, number 3, 2, and finishing with all the number one spots)_

_The Top 5's are as follows (all are my 'top 5 favorite...'):  
* Top 5 Series (my series)  
* Top 5 Friendships  
* Top 5 Characters  
* Top 5 Relationships_

_**TODAY: Top 5 Relationships: #2 - Puck/Quinn**  
_

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_**This is a double shift day.** There will be one more upload today: Those Are Wooden Wings, chapter 17._

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**"When It Was Us"  
Puck/Quinn**

She just had to kiss him… That was how it had started for him, way back when. He'd always thought she was hot, sure, but then there'd been a party, and he was there, and she was there… She was kind of tipsy, he was less so… And as much as it would have been a 'feather in his cap' to bag the head cheerleader, she had taken him by surprise when she'd kissed him. He'd kissed his fair share of girls, but that one, it had been different, stood out among the rest. After that, just for a moment, he'd thought maybe they could be something.

Of course before he could even get to try, she'd gone and taken up Finn as her new boyfriend, and everything just got really… complicated… After that, the years since that night had been as rocky as they got, and he'd tried, he'd tried… everything, he had been with her, without her, for her, against her... He had convinced himself that it was one chapter in his life that had just ended… Then that kiss, that damned kiss… It threw everything up in shambles all over again.

As crazy as it all could get, he knew that Quinn Fabray was a part of him. She may have had a lot of trouble figuring herself out, finding her way, but she continued to give him hope that he could be better than he thought he was. She was special, and she'd always felt… out of his league, and that she'd give him the time of day…

They'd been bonded for life the moment their daughter was born. She may not have been in their life, off being raised by Shelby Corcoran, but that didn't mean she didn't exist for them anymore. They had tried to make it work, and it had ended in disaster. After that, he didn't think there was anything left of them. They'd had their time, and they had tried, maybe they could only ever be a thing of the past.

Then the tutoring sessions had begun, then the kiss… It was like the first, every kiss was like the first, he'd always known this, but he felt like he had forgotten up until it happened again. The question was what was it supposed to mean for him… for them… If there was even that.

What was he supposed to do with that? What now? She was graduating and going on to bigger and better things, things she deserved, and he was… Well, he was going to do his best to make it, but that wouldn't land him anywhere near her, so what should he do? Trying to pursue her now, would it be the right thing to do, really?

He'd wrecked… parts of her life, he knew. That she was still standing now, he knew wasn't his doing… That was all her, if he went after her now, wouldn't he just make things bad for her all over again? He wasn't sure what he wanted now, he just knew… She had found her way in his heart again, and he wasn't ready to let her back out. He just had to figure out exactly what that meant, what he had to do.

When graduation day came, he was testing how he'd want to angle his cap, the range of motion in his gown… and he heard a soft laugh. He turned around, sending his cap tumbling off his head and to the ground as he saw her standing there, wearing her own 'grad gear.'

"Please tell me you're not naked under there," she frowned, shaking her head.

"Well someone had to be," he smirked, crouching, and he saw her flinch. "Relax," he grabbed the cap. "I was kidding," he pulled his robe back off his knee. Her head turned away, though once she took a peek, she saw he'd been telling the truth, and she relaxed. "You looked," he teased, standing back up.

"Shut up," she shook her head, watching him put the cap back on his head. "Here, let me," she came up and fixed it. "Now you're all set to walk across that stage, get your diploma."

"Thanks to you," he added.

"I helped," she smiled. "But it was you."

"I guess you'd know," he breathed.

"Hey, you'll do just fine out there, if you ask me. I happen to know a thing or two about self-doubt. In your case I'd say… Go out there, kick some ass."

"Hey," he mimicked. "Look who you're talking to," he smirked.

"My point exactly," she smiled.

"What about you? Yale…" he wanted to sound impressed, but this was her, so where else would she end up but the top? Still, his mentioning it brought a smile to her face, so it was still plenty worth it. "Can I tell you something?"

"Is it a secret?" she asked, curious.

"I don't know if I'd call it that, but… I'm really gonna miss it… sitting in that room, with you… guys, with you guys," he promised. "You? Or are you going to forget all about us up in fancy Yale town…" She laughed.

"I still do some of these choreographies in my sleep, don't think that'll happen," she told him. He gave a bow of the head, sending his tassel bouncing, and she saw through him. "I'll remember you guys even better." He smirked, looking up when he heard voices down the hall.

"Think it's time. Come on, grad," he held his arm out to her, confident in knowing, whatever was meant to happen, it would. They were connected, that wasn't going to change.

THE END

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******A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
************always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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